Frequently, because of a large volume of customers and a limited number of gas station attendants, automobile refueling service is often done in a hasty and inattentive manner. The attendant, striving to satisfy a number of customers' needs for gasoline, oil, coolant and the like in a brief period of time will flip the license plate holder into a horizontal position to expose the fuel tank stand pipe and its associated cap. Removing the cap with one hand and trying to swiftly insert the nozzle on the gas pump hose into the stand pipe at about the same time with the other hand occasionally causes the attendant to jam the metal nozzle into the body structure surrounding the aperture that accommodates the licence plate holder. This heavy or careless act can mar the automobile's finish and dent the body metal.
Further in this respect, if the attendant is not careful to properly insert the nozzle's discharge spout into the stand pipe, the nozzle can fall away from the pipe and spray gasoline on the automobile and the station's paving. Somewhat akin to this dangerous situation is the failure of an improperly inserted and unattended gasoline nozzle to terminate flow to a full tank. In this case fuel spills from the stand pipe to the paving. Even if fire is avoided in these situations, the gasoline, flowing over a portion of the vehicle's finish, usually will produce an undesirable discoloration.
A number of accessories have been devised through the years for the nozzle-fuel tank stand pipe connection. Illustratively, U.S. Pat. No. 2,170,415 granted Aug. 22, 1939 for a "Rain Shield For Filling Openings of Automobile Gasoline Tanks" shows an apparatus that prevents rain water from entering an automobile fuel tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,464,958 granted Mar. 22, 1949 for "Nozzle Holder" shows an apparatus for angularly orienting the nozzle of a water hose.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,486 granted June 25, 1968 to E. M. Trammell, Jr. for "Vehicle License Plate Holders" shows a device for mounting an automobile license plate in a manner that conceals the recess housing, the cap and fuel tank stand pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,952 granted Mar. 21, 1978 to H. Nishio et al. for "Filler Assembly of an Automotive Fuel Tank" discloses an improved filler cap for an automobile fuel tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,642 granted Mar. 24, 1981 to J. S. Sampson for "Gasoline Fill Cover Holding Arm" shows a hinged device for retaining a spring biased automobile license plate holder in a horizontal position to expose a fuel tank cap and stand pipe.
None of these U.S. patents, however, show or suggest any apparatus for unerringly guiding and sustaining a gas pump hose nozzle in proper orientation relative to a fuel tank stand pipe in order to avoid automobile body damage or gasoline spillage.